SACRAMENTO–Today, the California Senate advanced legislation to require police throughout the state to adhere to evidence-based standards during eyewitness identifications. Senators voted 24 to 8 to approve the measure, SB 923, which was introduced by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).

In response, the ACLU of California released the following statement on behalf of Kathy Sher, Legislative Advocate:

Wrongful convictions represent some of the most flagrant injustices plaguing our judicial system to date, with mistaken eyewitness identifications playing a significant and alarming role in the conviction of innocent people.

We applaud the Senate for passing SB 923 and recognizing the need to adopt widely recognized best practices and protocols in California. These standards have been shown to improve the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness identifications, and thus prevent wrongful convictions in the first place. We look forward to working with the Assembly to make sure SB 923 becomes state law.

SB 923 is sponsored by the ACLU of California and the California Innocence Coalition.